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US oil worker shot dead in Nigerian oil city
AFP
LAGOS
Petroleumworld.com 05 11 06
An American oil worker was shot dead Wednesday in the southern Nigerian city of Port Harcourt by an unidentified gunman on a motorbike, police said.
The victim, who has not yet been named, worked for the oil servicing company Baker Hughes Inc, a police officer told AFP.
"He was shot dead around Trans Amadi district at about 7.30 am (0630 GMT) as he was being driven to his place of work, according to his driver's formal statement to the police," said a police spokesman.
Port Harcourt, a hub of oil operations in the southern Niger Delta region, has been the scene of much violent crime in recent weeks.
Militants in the Delta region, agitating for more local control of their oil wealth, have this year kidnapped foreign oil workers, vandalised oil installations and killed more than a dozen soldiers.
They have also warned oil workers and foreign oil firms operating in the region to leave.
The attacks on oil installations have cut the country's oil production by 20 percent in the last few months.
The shooting of the US oil worker follows two car bomb attacks in recent weeks, for which the militant shadowy Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) has claimed responsibility.
Last month, President Olusegun Obasanjo promised thousands of jobs and extra social amenities to inhabitants of the troubled region in a move to defuse tensions and appease the local people.
In a statement Wednesday, MEND threatened to resume shortly "land-based attacks on petroleum-related installations."
"The public is warned to keep away from the offices of all oil companies including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). All facilities utilized by oil companies will as well be targeted," the text said.
"These attacks will be complemented by attacks on creek and offshore installations. There will be no further warnings before the attacks commence," it added.
AFP 10 1715 GMT 05 06
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